Boating Accidents

May 4, 2015

Water Safety Month: Dock Electrocutions

For the past eleven summers, our family has spent as many weekends as possible on Tims Ford Lake. We enjoy swimming, water skiing, jet skiing, grilling out with friends and all of the other fun the lake has to offer. But, in those eleven years, there have been some unspeakable tragedies as a result of electrocutions.

Around the corner from us, two young boys were electrocuted and died when they jumped from their dock and into the water. The electrical work on the newly installed dock had been improperly installed allowing a live charge to enter the water. Then, just two years ago, an adult was electrocuted and died as a result of an improperly grounded dock. Both accidents were preventable. So what can you do to make your dock safe? Continue reading

May 1, 2015

May Is National Water Safety Month

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I can feel it. Can you? Summer is almost here. The kids have just a few more weeks of school and then it is time for pools, lakes, waterparks, time at the river and more fun in the sun. In an effort to ensure everyone has a safe summer, May is National Water Safety Month, and in March of this year, Governor Bill Haslam signed a proclamation to that effect for the State of Tennessee.

While water can be the ideal spot for summer fun, it can also be a spot for terrible drowning and near-drowning accidents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 10 people a day die from drowning accidents. And drowning is the number one cause of death for children 1 to 4.

April 8, 2014

New Hope for Patients with Paralysis

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

In the United States, over 6 million Americans suffer with paralysis. Some of the injuries were induced by traumatic spinal cord injuries. Others were the result of medical conditions such as stroke or medical malpractice in the form of birth injuries and otherwise.

But, there is new hope in the form of implanted electrical devices. The devices are implanted under the skin of the abdomen and electrodes are then placed at the patient’s spinal cord. Then, the device sends electrical impulses to the spinal cord which basically reboots the neurons and retrains the nerves.

In a recent study, four patients who were all left paralyzed from car accidents and motorcycle accidents have been able to retrain their damaged nerves allowing them to voluntarily move their affected limbs. While none of the patients have learned to walk again, one of them has been able to stand for as long as 27 minutes.

July 15, 2013

Who Is Reasonable When Negligent Boating Causes Injury or Death in Tennessee?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Tennessee law provides that the negligent operator of a boat is responsible for injuries or deaths caused by the operator’s conduct.

The boat owner is also held responsible for the acts of the operator if the operator had permission of the owner to use the boat and if the boat owner was not in the business of leasing or selling boats. If the boat owner is in the business of selling or leasing boats, the owner is not liable for the negligence of the operator. However, a boat owner in the business of selling and leasing boats can still be held liable for negligently entrusting the boat to an incompetent driver.

Many boat owners have liability insurance on their boats and this insurance is available to provide compensation to those negligently injured by a boat operator.

July 16, 2012

Deadlines for Filing Personal Injury Cases in Tennessee

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

As a Tennessee personal injury lawyer, I receive at least one call every week from a potential personal injury client who has waiting too long to hire a lawyer to get help with filing a lawsuit. Recently, I had calls from three people in one week who called me too late for help.

There are lots of reasons you should call a lawyer quickly after a Tennessee auto accident or other event in which the negligence of another resulted in a serious injury, but one reason for prompt action is the delay can make it impossible to hire a lawyer who can help you.

Why do people wait to hire a lawyer? Some people think that they can resolve the personal injury case on their own, without any legal advice. Of course, sometimes that is true: a lay person may be able to settle a personal injury case without the assistance of a lawyer. For instance, car accident cases that involve only property damage, or that involve one trip to the emergency room and no other medical treatment frequently can be resolved without the help of a lawyer.

May 23, 2012

Why is My Past Medical History Important in My Personal Injury Lawsuit?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

As Tennessee personal injury lawyers, we spend of time listening to our clients explain about injuries they received in car wrecks, truck accidents, and lots of other situations. One frequent question we are asked is whether the insurance company defending the case will be able to explore the client’s medical history.

A person’s medical history is important in any case in which he or she is claiming to have suffered a physical or psychological injury as a result of someone else’s negligent or intentional act. The medical history establishes the baseline of the person’s physical or psychological well being before the injury. Tennessee law requires medical evidence to show that a negligent act caused an injury, so a medical history can establish the lack of any prior problem that our client complains was caused in a car wreck or other event.

Tennessee law provides that you may not recover damages for physical and mental suffering from prior medical problems or medical care to treat those pre-existing problems. However, when a preexisting condition is made worse y the wrongful act of another person byou can recover damages for the worsening of the condition. Your medical history will be important to proving this claim – your lawyer will have to show what the condition was before you were injured and, with the assistance of testimony from a doctor, how the injury made that condition worse.

April 18, 2012

Personal Watercraft (PWC) Collides With Boat

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

We were on a boat on Old Hickory Lake outside of Nashville, Tennessee. A young man driving a personal watercraft (a jet ski) was jumping our wake real close to the back of the boat. This happened several times. Then the PWC was racing along side of us, and then cut to his right to go close to the back of our boat and hit our wake. At the same time, our boat driver slowed down to try to get the PWC operator to leave us alone. The PWC hit the boat, knocking me off my feet and into the side of the boat, breaking my arm. Is the PWC operator responsible for my injuries?

It is against the law to jump a wake within 100 feet of the back of a boat or to otherwise operate too closely to another boat. So, if the facts shake out as you remember, you will have a claim against the operator for negligently operating the PWC.

Under Tennessee law, any lawsuit you want to file against the PWC operator must be filed within one year of the date of the incident. Failure to file suit on time will result in a loss of your rights.

April 11, 2012

Jet Ski Accident – Can I Recover My Medical Bills From the Operator?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was riding as a passenger on a jet ski at Center Hill Lake near Smithville, DeKalb County, Tennessee. The PWC operator was driving real close to the shore at a high rate of speed and hit a big rock. He lost control of the jet ski, I got flipped off, and tore the rotator cuff in my shoulder. Is he responsible for my medical bills?

More details are necessary before your case can be evaluated properly but generally speaking it is considered reckless driving of a personal watercraft device (jet ski) to operate in too close to shore. If the operator is determined to have been operating in a reckless or negligent fashion, he or she can be held liable for your medical bills. In addition, you may also receive compensation for your lost earnings, future lost earnings, pain, suffering and disability.

Remember that as a passenger you too have a responsibility to exercise reasonable care for your own safety any time you are on a jet ski. If the operator is engaging in horse play it is your responsibility to encourage to operator to behave appropriately and, if he or she fails to do so, to get off of the jet ski as promptly as it is prudent to do so.

June 29, 2011

Boating Accident – Other Boater Was Drunk

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was fishing at Tims Ford lake and a ski boat came around a corner and hit my small boat. I was thrown into the water and received a compound fracture to my leg and a bad cut. The leg became infected. The other boater was drunk? What are my rights?

Tennessee has laws that govern the operation of boats and it is just as illegal to operate a boat under the influence of alcohol as it is to operate a vehicle under the influence.

Thus, you have a claim against the boater who ran into you just as you would if you have been hit by a drunk driver on Hwy 50 between Lynchburg and Winchester.

March 23, 2011

Can My Statement on the Accident Report Be Used?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was in a wreck. The police took a statement from me but she did not accurately put down what I said in the accident report. Can the accident report be used against me in a personal injury case?

Yes, but not directly. In most cases, the accident report cannot be admitted into evidence in a Tennessee state court. However, the police officer who you asked you questions can be subpoenaed into court and asked what you said to her. She will be given the right to review report, which may well be all that she remembers about what you said to her. Therefore, if the officer recalls only what is in the report and will not agree that the report is or could be wrong, the evidence of your statement as set forth in the report (technically, the officer’s testimony about that statement) can be used against you.